Avontuur Sarabande Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2013

Over the weekend, two new releases from Avontuur, the Helderberg winery and thoroughbred stud, the individual wines named for horses bred on the property.

Avontuur Sarabande Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2013
Price: R104
A flamboyant take on the variety due in part to some oak maturation. Packed with flavour – pronounced pineapple but also grapefruit and granadilla. Rich, full and smooth textured with nicely coated acidity.

88

Avontuur Minelli Pinot Noir Reserve 2010
Price: R159
The over-riding impression is of oak but also some maraschino cherries. Sweet on entry before an astringent finish. About as far away from Burgundy as you can possibly get.

1 COMMENT

I have a Avontuur Minelli Pinot Noir Reserve 2008 in my cellar that I don’t quite know what to do with. I remember the same thing about it: too much wood and a bitter, hard finish. I really don’t think it will get any better with age (tannin may polymerize, but bitterness not so much), but it’s not very pleasant to drink as I remember it either. And I’m not a Pinot snob – I get much pleasure from some of our cheapies, too. Maybe I should just mature the hell out of it and hope that it’ll make me eat my words…